Flexible buoyant element



Dec. 10, 1963 J. MULLER FLEXIBLE BUOYANT ELEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 29, 1960 Inventor JACQUES M ULLER yy g Attorneys J. MULLER FLEXIBLE BUOYANT ELEMENT Dec. 10, 1963 Filed Dec. 29. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvgnl R m m L.. I U "0/ s m E United States Patent Ofifice 3,113,328 FLEXIBLE BUOYANT ELEMENT Jacques Muller, 123 Ave. du General de Gaulle, La Garenne-Colombes (Seine), France Filed Dec. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 79,284 Claims priority, application France Jan. 21, 1960 7 Claims. (Cl. 9-400) This invention relates to a new industrial product, and more particularly to flexible buoyant elements which may be assembled into numerous shapes and configurations for the practical purpose of protecting articles such as packages, pipe lines and so on and rendering them buoyant in a liquid.

The elements according to the invention also promote the rapid and economical construction from prefabricated elements of floating works such as rafts, pipes, landing stages, gangways or bridges. The elements may be used individually or in assemblies of appropriate shape and form and are conveniently made in the form of sheets of a desired thickness formed of an impervious and flexible cellular material containing closed cells or by the agglomeration of bubbles or small balloons of natural or synthetic rubber, synthetic plastic or the like.

Where the elements are in the form of sheets, the sheets may be of any desired shape and they are provided internally and/or externally with braids or tapes arranged along, across or diagonally of the sheets so as to form straps or belts having a high tensile strength. They are preferably provided on both faces with a suitable protective covering.

One object of the invention is to provide a method of constructing buoyant elements for attachment to each other and to articles which are to be rendered buoyant.

Another object is to provide means for attach .ient to each other which may be assembled to form a buoyant structure to support a unitary article such as a packing case or continuous objects such as pipe lines, or which may equally readily be assembled together into floating structures such as rafts, bridges or landing stages.

The invention consists of a method of manufacturing a buoyant element comprising the steps of providing a piece of impervious cellular material containing closed cells, attaching thereto lengths of tape or the like, and providing at the ends of the said lengths of tape or the like means for attaching the element to other elements or objects.

The invention includes a method comprising the step of covering the said material and lengths of tape or the like at least partially with a protective covering.

Preferabl the buoyant element is in the form of a sheet which is provided on both faces with lengths of tape, braid, straps or the like formed into loops or other connectible shapes at opposite ends to enable elements to be assembled to each other and to be attached to other articles which are to be rendered buoyant, the sheet and tapes being covered on both faces with a protective outer covering.

Some types of the buoyant elements according to the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 shows a rectangular buoyant element seen from above;

FIGURE 2 shows in section a buoyant element provided with a double row of attachments;

FIGURE 3 shows, also in section, an element provided with tapes buried in its thickness;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a composite sheet formed of assembled elements;

FIGURE 5 shows superimposed elements fixed together;

buoyant elements having 3,113,328 Patented Dec. 10, 1963 FIGURES 6 and 7 shows two constructional examples of pipe lines rendered buoyant by the attachment of buoyant elements;

FIGURE 8 is a View of a protected and unsinkable packing case; and

FIGURE 9 shows in perspective a floating footbridge or gangway formed by an assembly of buoyant elements.

Referring first to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, in which like members are given like reference numbers, a buoyant element is formed by one or more sheets 1 made of an impervious cellular material having closed cells, of any desired geometrical shape and of a thickness adequate to support an article which is to be rendered buoyant. The sheets may be made of natural or synthetic rubber or synthetic plastic. A number of lengths of flexible braid or tape 3 are arranged along and across the sheet 1 and attached thereto by glueing, cementing or other means. As shown, the braids or tapes are not parallel to the longitudinal or transverse edges of the sheet 1 but are set at an angle. The braids or tapes are formed into eyes at their ends adjacent the edges of the sheet 1 so that they can be attached one to another. The braids or tapes may be composed of any ribbon-like material with a high tensile strength and they act as supports for the sheets. A sheet of protective fabric 2 is finally placed on each face of the sheet 1 over the braids or tapes 3, which protects the elements from abrasion or other damage. The protective material may be a fabric, or lattice work, or could be formed of slats, and it may be composed of, or impregnated or covered with, a re silient material impervious to water.

The loops 4 are in staggered relationship along any two opposite edges of the sheet by virtue of the angular disposition of the braids or tapes 3, so that: if the edges of two sheets are placed together in alignment the loops on the edge of one sheet fit into the gaps between the loops of the other sheet. It is therefore possible to assemble any number of sheets together by placing rods or the like through the interengaging loops to provide properly aligned assemblies.

If desired the braids or tapes 3 may be placed between sheets of cellular material, as shown in FIGURE 3, the protective covering being laid on the exposed faces of the sheets.

The loops may also be made use of to assemble packs of superimposed elements, as shown in FIGURE 5, where it is desired to increase the total thickness, and therefore the buoyancy, of the elements.

In place of the loops shown, for assembly, such as hooks, may be provided. The loops shown at the ends of the outer elements in FIGURE 5 are differently positioned to those shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 with respect to the thickness of the elen ents 1. The loops may initially be placed in any desired position for producing different assemblies and, since they may be flexible, they may be moved to some extent to enable different elements to be hinged together.

FIGURES 6 and 7 shows how it is possible by the use of the buoyant elements according to the invention to construct rapidly a floating pipe line. In these figures elements shown in previous figures are given like reference numbers. As shown in FIGURE 6, a number of buoyant elements 6 are bent around a pipe 7 and their ends are joined by passing a rod or cable 5 through the loops at the ends, so that the pipe 6 is surrounded by a buoyant covering and provided that the elements are appropriately selected in relation to the weight per unit length of pipe 6 and its contents, the pipe will become buoyant and will float on a liquid, such as water. For supporting a larger pipe 8, two buoyant elements 9, each containing a sheet la of impervious cellular material, are joined together and are wrapped around the pipe,

other members adapted their ends being coupled, so that the two elements are joined at diametrically opposite points by the cables passing through the loops 4. It will be appreciated that for still larger pipes a larger number of elements may be used for each circuit of the pipe. By this particular use of the invention it is possible to produce easily and rapidly, floating pipe lines intended especially for the transfer of petroleum products or the like. The relative displacement of the loops at the two ends, referred to in connection with FIGURE 1, ensures that when the elements are bent around pipes the loops interengage perfectly for coupling together.

FIGURE 8 shows how a plurality of the floating elements, designated 10, may be assembled around a packing case 112 by means of rods or cables 5 connecting the loops 4, so that a floating package is formed. The enclosure of the packing case in the buoyant envelope not only protects the goods in the packing case from shocks in case of accidental impact or dropping, but renders the case unsinkable if it should fall into a liquid element, for example, during shipping or unshipping. it will also be appreciated that floating packages of this kind may be attached to each other to form floating trains which may be towed, for example, for effecting very economical river transport.

As a final example of the utilisation of the invention, buoyant elements which are easily transportable in small bulk may be assembled in situ to form rapidly a floating gangway or bridge, as shown in FIGURE 9. The assembly consists of buoyant elements 13 provided with tapes having loops 4, and outer protective sheets 2, as previously described, assembled together by the rods or cables 5 passing through the loops 4 to form a floating bridge. The elements may be advantageously assembled in such a manner as to form a U-shaped gangway in which the sides serve as parapets. A rope 14 is passed through the upper loops of each of the parapets and acts as a hand-rail to assist users of the bridge in negotiating it.

From the description which has been given it will be evident that many other uses for the floating elements according to the invention may be devised.

What I claim is:

1. A flexible buoyant element comprising a sheet of imperviouscellular material containing closed cells, a plurality of length of tape attached to said sheet, said lengths of tape passing between opposite edges of said sheet and overlapping said edges, the overlapping portions of said tape being formed into loops to constitute one half of a hinge extending along each edge, whereby a similar element may be hingedly connected to said element along any edge by interengaging said loops and passing therethrough a member acting as a hinge pin.

2. An element as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tapes are laid at an oblique angle to said edges, such that the loops formed on one edge are opposite the gaps between the loops on the opposite edge, whereby two elements may be placed side by side with the loops thereof interengaging and with the sheets in alignment.

3. An element as claimed in claim 1 comprising a plurality of said sheets of material laid one on top of the other, said lengths of tape being disposed between adjacent sheets.

4. An element as claimed in claim 1 comprising a protective covering laid over and attached to said tapes and 4 said sheet, said protective covering being impregnated or coated with a resilient material impervious to water.

5. A buoyant pipe structure comprising a pipe to carry a fluid, and at least one flexible buoyant element disposed around said pipe, sand buoyant element comprising a sheet I" impervious cellular material containing closed cells, a plurality of lengths of tape attached to said sheet, said lengths of tape passing between opposite edges of said sheet and overlapping said edges, the overlapping portions of said tape being formed into loops to constitute one half or a hinge extending along each edge, said tapes being laid at oblique angles across said sheet, such that the loops formed along one edge are opposite the gaps between the loops at the opposite edge, said element being wrapped around said pipe so that the loops on one edge interengage the loops on said other edge, and a cable passed through said loops to hold said element in position.

6. A buoyant pipe structure comprising a pipe to carry a fluid, a plurality of flexible buoyant elements disposed around said pipe, each of said buoyant elements comprising a sheet of impervious cellular material containing closed cells, a plurality of lengths of tape attached to said sheet, said lengths of tape passing between opposite edges of said sheet and overlapping said edges, the portions of said tape overlapping each edge being formed into loops to constitute one-half of a hinge extending the whole of the way along the edge, said tapes being laid at oblique angles across said sheet such that the loops formed along one edge are opposite the gaps between the loops at the; opposite edge of the adjacent element, said elements being wrapped around said pipe so that the loops on one edge of one element are interjacent with the loops on the edge of the adjacent element, and cables passed through the interjacent loops of adjacent elements to hold said elements in position around said pipe.

7. A structure comprising a plurality of buoyant elements joined together, each element comprising a sheet of impervious cellular material containing closed cells, a plurality of ribbonlike flexible tensile members spaced across the whole width of at least one face of each said sheet and extending over the length of the sheet from edge to edge, loops formed at the ends of each of said ribbonlike members, the loops on adjacent elements being spaced in such a manner that when the edges of the elements are brought together the loops are interadjacent, and a rodlike member extending across the whole width of said elements passing through the interengaging loops of adjacent elements to form a hinge and hold said elements together as an assembly.

References Eited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 913,482 Ette Feb. 23, 1909 1,143,830 Jorgensen June 22, 1915 1,270,368 Binnie June 25, 1918 1,341,529 Watts May 25, 1920 2,338,535 Pfleurner Ian. 4, 1944 2,508,303 Sturtevant May 16, 1950 2,577,236 Doherty Dec. 4, 1951 2,703,891 Mayer Mar. 15, 1955 2,950,489 Pattison d. Aug. 30, 1960 2,967,507 Schulz Jan. 10, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 

1. A FLEXIBLE BUOYANT ELEMENT COMPRISING A SHEET OF IMPERVIOUS CELLULAR MATERIAL CONTAINING CLOSED CELLS, A PLURALITY OF LENGTH OF TAPE ATTACHED TO SAID SHEET, SAID LENGTHS OF TAPE PASSING BETWEEN OPPOSITE EDGES OF SAID SHEET AND OVERLAPPIG SAID EDGES, THE OVERLAPPING PORTIONS OF SAID TYPE BEING FORMED INTO LOOPS TO CONSTITUTE ONE HALF OF A HINGE EXTENDING ALONG EACH EDGE, WHEREBY A SIMILAR ELEMENT MAY BE HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO SAID ELEMENT ALONG ANY EDGE BY INTERENGAGING SAID LOOPS AND PASSING THERETHROUGH A MEMBER ACTING AS A HINGE PIN. 